20 March 1771

James Cook's Journal: Daily Entries

Table of Contents On this day ... 20 March 1771 Endeavour Voyage Maps James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia Sydney Parkinson's Journal The authorised published account of Cook's Voyage by John Hawkesworth Other Accounts ... • Joseph Banks's Journal 1771 Index Search Contact us Search for Nautical Term in Falconer's Dictionary of the Marine...

20 March 1771 Wednesday 20th In the PM saild the Holton Indiaman who saluted us with a 11 Guns, which Compliment we returnd; this Ship during her stay in India lost by sickness between 30 and 40 Men and had at this time a good ma[n]y down with the scurvy, other Ships suffer'd in the same proportion, thus we find that Ships which have been little more than Twelve Months from England have suffer'd as much or more by Sickness than we have done who have been out near three times along, yet their sufferings will hardly ^if atall be mentioned ^or known in England when on the other hand those of the Endeavour, because the Voyage is uncommon, will very probable be mentioned in every News paper, and what is not unlikely, with many additional hardships we never experienced for such are the disposission of men in general in these Voyages that they are seldom content with the hardships and dangers which will naturaly occur most ^but they must add others which hardly ever had existence but in their imaginations, by magnifying the most trifling accidents and circumstances to the greatest hardships, and unsurmou[n] table dangers without the imidiate interposion of Providence as if the whole Merit of the Voyage consisted ^in of the dangers and hardships they underwent, or that real ones did not happen often enough to give the mind sufficient anxiety; thus posteriety are th^taught to look upon these Voyages as hazardous to the highest degree — Voyaging Accounts © Transcription by Paul Turnbull of National Library of Australia, Manuscript 1 page 362, 2004 Published by kind permission of the Library To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/cook/17710320.html